"What's wrong with Jim?" Leonard asked.
"He won't talk to us. Chris is on his way, he's the only person the lad listens to," Scotty told him. The doctor nodded before he decided that he'd give it a try.
"What's up, kid?" Leonard rested his hand on Jim's shoulder and sat down next to him. "Come on, you got us all worried and you know it takes a lot to make Hikaru worry."
Jim chuckled, "I ran into my ex, today. Carol." Everyone but Leonard seemed to understand the importance of this woman.
"Someone wanna fill me in?" he asked.
"They were college sweethearts but the whole thing was toxic, at best. One day, she just left," Ny told him.
Given what he learned about Jim, Leonard knew the kid had hardcore abandonment issues. His father died, his mom abandoned him, his brother ran away and died and his step-dad used him for a punching bag. If it wasn't for Chris, Jim would probably be dead.
"Everybody had ex issues, Jim. Hell, you met the she-devil I married. This Carol can't be that bad," Leonard told his friend.
"She had a kid with her," Jim whispered. "He's the right age… has my eyes. My dad's eyes. I wasn't brave enough to ask if… if he's mine. I know he is. She didn't tell me… Why didn't she tell me?" Jim rested his head against Leonard's chest and burst into tears.
"That is so wrong," Hikaru growled. Leonard nodded as he held their friend in his arms. If this woman ever cared about Jim than she knew that all the kid wanted was a family. He surrounded himself with good people that may not be his blood but they were definitely his brothers and sisters, and Chris was his dad. If the little boy Jim saw was, in fact, his son, than she robbed Jim of the only thing he ever wanted. She robbed them both.
"We'll figure this out, Jim. I know it hurts. Jocelyn has been trying to take Jo from me since she split, it's how I ended up here. I didn't know what to do with myself, then I met all of you. We got your back, kid. Whatever you need, you know we won't let you go it alone."